1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hydraulic jacks and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for hydraulic “bottle jacks” load rated for heavy vehicles under which they are used.
2. Background Art
Bottle jacks are small, portable, self-contained systems. Relying on hydraulic oil, they operate on certain principles of fluid mechanics. Being hand-portable, they cannot have all the mechanisms, protections, conveniences, wheels, bearing widths or lengths, size, stabilization, visibility and so forth possible for rolling floor jacks (also called trolley jacks) common in commercial repair shops.
At the top of the piston is typically a head. That head is a problem. The relatively small cross sectional area of a head is almost universally inadequate. It is typically dictated by the size of the shaft inside the lift piston. Frictional engagement is poor due to metal-to-metal contact. Moreover, a bottle jack on or near a roadway has an uncontrolled supporting surface on which it may tip, slide, or otherwise shift dangerously. The instabilities of the head and the base against their respective environments combine to be dangerous.
For example, a bottle jack poorly placed or shifting during use creates a dangerous level of force and a weighty projectile. Forces may literally “kick out” a jack at a velocity and momentum (mass×velocity) sufficient to cause serious injury or death to a user in the vicinity
It would be an advance in the art to develop a system to stabilize a jack in the uncontrolled environment of roadside assistance. Novel and non-obvious improvements may benefit by sacrificing convenience of integral jacks for more useful and more readily adaptability on the roadside. Certain “consumer safety” benefits and restrictions may need to be set aside in favor of improved capabilities for a professional mechanic providing roadside assistance distant from the controlled environment of a workshop or garage.